Kids with Concussions May Suffer Lingering Consequences

Kids with Concussions May Suffer Lingering Consequences

Children with even relatively mild concussions can have persistent attention and memory problems a year after their injuries, according to a study that helps identify which kids may be most at risk for lingering symptoms.

In most kids with these injuries, symptoms resolve within a few months but the study results suggest that problems may linger for up to about 20 percent, said study author Keith Owen Yeates, a neuropsychologist at Ohio State University's Center for Biobehaviorial Health. The results were published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

Problems like forgetfulness were more likely to linger than fatigue, dizziness and other physical complaints, the study found.

Forgetfulness, difficulty paying attention, headaches and fatigue were more common in study children who lost consciousness or who had other mild head trauma that caused brain abnormalities on imaging tests, compared with kids who didn't get knocked out or who had normal imaging test results.

The study looked at symptoms up to a year after injury so it doesn't answer whether any kids had longer-lasting or permanent problems. But, for that year, the report concluded that the children who had injury-related symptoms "significant functional impairment in their daily lives."

Those children suffering problems may need temporary accommodations, including extra time taking school tests, or wearing sunglasses if bright light gives them headaches, Yeates said.